Death
by Zuvios Gemini
Summary: #9 - 100 Theme Writing Challenge It all comes down to this. Who will emerge victorious? And alive, for that matter? SephXCloud if you look REALLY closely haha. R&R PLEASE! Rated T for violence and morbidity.


On top of the ShinRa building, a brilliant light show could be seen for miles. The loud metallic sound of clashing swords echoed throughout the deathly silent city.

Cloud Strife crashed to the ground again, his buster sword sliding out of his reach. He shook his head in attempt to stop the ringing in his ears. He gently touched the back of his head and flinched. He looked at his fingers, and thru his blurred vision, saw that they were covered in a fresh layer of blood. He shook his head again. Through the empty spots in his vision, Cloud saw Sephiroth standing maybe 30 feet from when he was laying. In his peripheral line of vision, he noticed that his sword was laying 10 feet to his left. If he could just--

"Are you giving up?" Sephiroth's deep voice cut through Cloud's train of thought. His mako-infused eyes watched the blonde man struggle to stand. In reality Cloud was just trying to buy himself some time, and Sephiroth knew it. Cloud was putting on a good show, but Sephiroth was growing impatient. "Cloud. Are you going to fight me, or continue this pointless charade?" His voice was stone cold as he stared at Cloud.

Cloud straightened up and side-stepped over to his sword. The back of his collar, as Sephiroth observed, was stained a dark red. A ghost of a smile played on his lips. Cloud's narrowed eyes never broke contact with Sephiroth as he slowly reached down for his sword.

Cloud just barely caught the tightening of Sephiroth's fist on his sword. There was a short count of 3 seconds between the time Cloud lifted his sword above his head and the moment when Sephiroth's sword crashed down on top of it. Cloud gritted his teeth as he tried to stay standing.

Sephiroth's gaze turned colder, and he pushed down on his sword harder, sending Cloud down on one knee. The pavement below cracked under the combined weight and force. "Give up, Cloud. Give up." Sephiroth all but commanded. Cloud flinched as more pressure was applied. His whole body ached and shook slightly, but Cloud refused to do as he was told. When he finally found his voice, it came out strained and angry. "N-never."

He swung his other leg over and kicked Sephiroth's legs out from under him. A flicker of surprise passed over Sephiroth's face as he began to fall. Cloud was so focused on landing a blow on the silver-haired man that he didn't see Sephiroth raise his leg. Cloud's sword swung down; Sephiroth's leg came up. Cloud didn't have time to react as Sephiroth kicked him. Hard.

Sephiroth stood quickly and watched as the blonde ex-SOLIDER did 1, 2, 3 back-flips and skidded to a halt in a crouched position. Cloud's labored breath was the only sound on the concrete rooftop. Cloud didn't attempt to move as he heard Sephiroth's voice thru the fog in his head. "I'll say it again. Give up."

Cloud wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth before standing upright once more. "You really want to die that badly?" Sephiroth asked. Cloud sensed a hint of amusement in his question. His face twisted into a mix of agony and anger. "No." He answered shortly. He picked up his discarded sword and, after spitting some blood onto the ground, he continued. His voice was hard as he faced Sephiroth a second time.

"No. I don't want to die. I've got so much to live for. I've got so much left to do in this life." Sephiroth listened silently, almost intently. Cloud's grip on his sword tensed, and he smiled bitter-sweetly. "If I die today, make no mistake that I'll be taking you down with me."

Cloud shifted into a fighting stance. Sephiroth chuckled, satisfied with Cloud's answer. "Very well then." The battle resumed.

Blow after blow, attack after attack, the sparks flew once again as the swords collided. Every once and a while, someone would land a good shot and send the other flying, but neither men really had an advantage at this point.

Cloud attacked with a newfound ferocity, and Sephiroth met every strike with equal, if not more, power and strength. Both of them were determined to walk off that rooftop alive, but they also both knew that wasn't going to be the case. They were fighting to the death, and that was exactly what was going to happen. Life would be lost on that stark autumn day.

Frustration and exhaustion began to plague Cloud as the war dragged on. The roof of the ShinRa building was morbidly decorated with sword marks, cracks, and blood; Cloud's blood. Cloud was covered in cuts and gashes, most of them still bleeding. He blinked a couple times to try and clear the blood that was blinding his right eye. His breath was ragged and slow as Sephiroth approached. His eyes were hooded and misty when Sephiroth stopped in front of him.

Cloud hardly felt the kick to his chest, hardly felt his back hit the ground, hardly felt his body begin to shut down. He slowly opened his clouded blue eyes and saw Sephiroth standing above him. Their gazes met, and Cloud saw something similar to remorse in Sephiroth's eyes.

Cloud felt a sharp pain in his chest, which dulled after a second or two. Then. His world went black.

Sephiroth's bloody sword fell out of his limp hand as he stood over Cloud's lifeless body. It began raining, and Cloud's blood formed a thin river that flowed across the rooftop and between Sephiroth's feet. Sephiroth's legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees.

'_Cloud.'_

He raised his eyes and looked thru his wet hair at the limp blonde. His stomach heaved and he vomited stomach acid on the ground. When he stomach had settled, he stood shakily, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and picked up his sword. He turned away from Cloud and cleaned his weapon on his own robes. He closed his eyes, feeling numb.

"Cloud. I'm sorry." He said quietly, though he knew Cloud would never hear him. Sephiroth turned back and carefully picked up Cloud's motionless body. Prepared to own up to his mistake, he walked towards the door to the stairs, his jaw set.


End file.
